2014

1. Unique Value Proposition 2014

2. The Association The Members Codes, Rules and Guidelines Institutional Relations Why become a member of Assirm Why work with Assirm Institutes Index

3. THE ASSOCIATION

4. Assirm is an association founded in 1991 that brings together themain Italian Institutes of Market, Opinion and Social Research, representing more than 80% of the total turnover of the industry. The association aims to: Enhance the role and social function of market, social and opinion research Encourage and promote the improvement of the quality of the services offered by its Members Member Institutes are independent and private companies, committed to compliance with the Assirm Code of Professional Ethics and related Quality Standards, inspired by the ISO 20252 industry-standards. The Code regulates the activity of the Institutes and complements the one of ESOMAR, the European Association for Professionals in Market Research, with rules related to the activity of the Institutes. Who we are

5. MISSIONAssirm promotes a wider affirmation of the value of market, social and opinion research, as an instrument of knowledge and understanding of the social, economic and political phenomena. VALUESThe mission of Assirm is based on four core values: The social value of the research: as the ability to go beyond mere information to provide an understanding of the meaning of the phenomena and social dynamics, thanks to the constant pursuit of excellence of performance and professional expertise. The value of research as a high commitment of service: for the direct benefit of clients and in order to meet their needs, but also, indirectly, for the benefit and satisfaction of all segments of the community, for the benefit of society itself and for a better future. The value of a mature professional conscience: for the responsible exercise of a profession that knows how to serve the purposes of the clients not separately from the social ones. The value of training researchers: in order to attain an intelligence of research which is appropriate to the growing complexity of society and its gradual transformation. VISIONOperating in such a way that market research is widely recognized and appreciated for its value, that its use will spread increasingly among institutions, companies and associations, and that its Code of Professional Ethics and its Quality Standards are considered as guarantee of excellence. Mission ÷Values÷Vision

6. The Corporate Bodies of the Association are*: *: fra gli Organi Associativi sono presenti anche il *: the Treasurer and the Auditor are also part of the Corporate Bodies The Corporate Bodies of the Association Assembly of Members It is composed of all the Members, it holds all the powers concerning the existance and the authority of the Association, and the guidelines regulating the life of the Association President He/she is the legal representative of the Associationand presides over the Board of Directors. He/she takes care of the implementation of the resolutions Board of Directors It puts the resolutions of the Assembly into effect, takes care of ordinary administration tasks, it evaluates methods, means and priorities in order to reach the objectives of the Association Disciplinary Committee It judges the professional ethics of Members, it resolves litigations about professional ethics among Members, or between Members and third parties, or between the Corporate Bodies of the Association and its Members Quality Committee It confirms the suitability of standards and procedures of Quality, it evaluates the reports by the auditors concerning the compliance with the requirements of the Quality Standards of Assirm Research Centre It can carry out all the tasks considered useful or necessary in order to develop the culture of research and the exchanges of experiences and know-how

7. PresidentUmberto Ripamonti Honorary PresidentGabriele Calvi Board of Directors Alessandro AmadoriLuciana DonnarummaElisabetta GentiliAndrea GiovenaliMatteo LucchiFabrizio Morandi Maurizio PessatoTommaso Pronunzio Past PresidentSilvestre Bertolini Director of Research Centre Alessandro Amadori Deputy Director of Research CentreGuendalina Graffigna Corporate Bodies: 2012-2014 • Disciplinary Committee Vincenzo Mariconda - PresidentGabriele CalviMario GallottiA. Claudio Bosio Maria Teresa Crisci • Quality CommitteeCarlo Erminero - PresidentAlfonso CastellanoLino CoscioneLudovico GalimbertiMatteo LucchiVilma Scarpino

8. MEMBERS

9. 2B Research Adacta Added Value Ales Market Research Baba Beyond Research Blogmeter C.R.A Carlo Erminero & Co. CFI Group Italia Coesis Research Consulmarketing Demoskopea Doxa Duepuntozero Research Episteme Format Freni Ricerche di Marketing G&G Associated Member Institutes • GfK Eurisko • GfK Retail and Technology Italia • GMC Ricerche • GN Research • GPF Research • Gruppo Clas • IMS Health • Interactive Market Research • Ipsos • IRI - Information Resources • ISPO Ricerche • Istituto Piepoli • Iterion • IZI • Kantar Health • K-Research • Lorien Consulting • Marketing Management • Medi-Pragma • Millward Brown • MPS • Nextplora • People • Pragma • Qberg • Research Now • Ricerche Valdani Vicari • RQ • SGR International • Sita Ricerca • SWG • The Nielsen Company • The NPD Group • TNS Italia • Unicab Italia • VIA!

10. Member Institutes

11. Our Members employ in their companies over 2.200 highly specialized people, all over the national territory. The employment contracts with all the employees as to data collection (phone and face to face interviewers, samplers, etc. …) involve in total about 11.000 people. People

12. Turnover (year 2012) • Assirm Member Institutes create over 80% of the overall value of market researches carried out in Italy. 500 million Euros

13. The headquarters of ourMember Institutes are located in some of the main Italian cities. The research activities are carried out on the whole national territory, covering in a capillary way, directly or through their networks of interviewers, a substantial part of the Italian cities. Activities on the national territory BERGAMO TRIESTE MILANO FIRENZE ROMA NAPOLI PALERMO

14. Some of the Members are Italian Institutes, others are members of international independent networks, or are part of big research multinational Almost all of the Institutes can carry out, independently or with the support of the networks they belong to, research activities in several countries of the world. International Activities

15. Fields of Activity FMCG and SUPPLY DURABLE and SEMI-DURABLE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES BANKS ASSURANCE FINANCE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OTHER FIELDS PHARMA AGRICULTURE ZOOTECHNICS MEDIA ENTERTAINM. IT TLC INTERNET

16. Our Members carry out «one shot» or «continuous» researches… … qualitative and quantitative ones … targets are B2C and B2B … on regenerated samples, Consumer Panels, Retail Panels, Access Panels Types and fields of Activity • The main quantitative data collection methods are: • CATI • CAPI & PAPI • CAWI • Mobile • Test Center • Central Location • Qualitative research is mainly based on: • Focus group • One to one in depth interviews  offline & online

17. Types and Fields of Activity • For instance, some types of activity are: U&A Media Marketing Mix ADV test Advertising Market segmentation Brand Image ADV Tracking Product Researches Brand Positioning Public Opinion Researches Social Researches Opinion polls Mystery Shopping Loyalty Internal Environment Customer Satisfaction

18. Assirm Members provide, every year, with expertise and professionalism, their services to over 2.000 Companies and Institutes National and Multinational ones Carrying out more than 10.000 researches Our Members’ relationships

19. CODES, STANDARDS, REGULATIONS

20. Codes & Regulations Code of Professional Ethics It defines the role of the research institutes and of the researchers, the standards of professional ethics, the rules of behaviour. It also defines the responsabilities of the institutes, that undertake to comply to them, with their Assirm membership. QualityStandards They strenghten the foundations of the profession, by officializing and emphasizing them, in order to contribute to the consolidation and the qualification of the identity of the industry and to state a broader vision of quality, which is not limited to the mere procedural aspects, but one that focuses on the most important operational methodologies. Code of the Data Protection Authority It is a code of ethics and conduct concerning the processing of personal data for statistical and scientific purposes.

21. This code is intended as a framework for self-regulation that each of the Members undertake to carry out, with the following purposes: Mnintain hgh standards of quality of research and of the profession Increase the trust of citizens, businesses and institutions in social and market research; Make explicit the special responsibilities of Researchers towards specific groups: children and other people with limited knowledge and limited capacity for critical judgment. This Code defines: the general principles that define the reference values ​​in the activities of the Members towards their Clients and that define other audiences (stakeholders). the conduct criteria towards each class of stakeholders, which provide, in detail, the guidelines and the rules that Members are required to follow. The implementation mechanisms, which describe the control system for compliance with the code of ethics and its continuous improvement, which are outlined in a specific document. Code of Professional Ethics

22. EXPERTISE Commitment to operate in a professional manner, following criteria of excellence, selecting partners and suppliers in a strict way, promoting the training and updating of the employees. HONESTY Commitment not to lie, not to boast skills that one doesn’t have, while respecting confidentiality. This also appliesto other categories of stakeholders, especially to respondents. PARTNERSHIP Commitment to listen carefully and to interpret in a correct way the client’s needs, and to propose a research which will actually be usefuland serve the client. COMMITMENT Commitment to look for true and useful answers to the client’s problem. General commitment in every phase of the research. INFORMATION Commitment to spread the knowledge of the value of research, by actively providing information in a transparent way, with the ability and the willingness to communicate. General Principles of the Code of Professional Ethics

23. The Quality Standards, together with the Code of Professional Ethics meet the need to: Strengthen the foundations of the profession, formalizing them and giving them visibility, to help strengthen the identity of the industry and to qualify it. acquire greater authority than the institutional counterparties and to affirm a wider vision of the quality of research, not limited to procedural aspects, focusing on the most important operating methodologies The rules are based on industry standards (ISO 20252) For certified members, according to the ISO standard, it is a set of rules whose application is already provided for in the quality systems and for which they must confirm the adoption, even where changes are present. The Assirm Certification and the ISO Certification are therefore a minimum requirement that each member should ensure. Quality Standards

24. Members who are not certified according to the ISO standard and do not intend to proceed with this certification, must, by statutory provision, obtain, within 12 months from the date membership, the Assirm Quality Certificate. Assirm member institutes are committed to: Ensure Professionalism, Expertise and Experience of all their employees and partners, in addition to quality control of all production and research processes; comply with the Code of Professional Ethics and the Standards of Quality to maintain high quality standards, increase the confidence of users in market research and make explicit the responsibilities of their researchers towards those groups or individuals that have to be protected; in the relationship with its customers, follow the guidelines of Competence, Integrity, Partnership, Commitment and Information defining the responsibilities of the institute and its researchers; avoid damaging, discrediting or undermining the image and credibility of the Association and the profession. Quality Certificate

25. Regulations Pharmaceutical Regulation Ensure that every market and social research carried out among medical staff for statisticor scientific research purposes comply with the principles and guidelines of the Codes of Ethics issued by Assirm and ICC/Esomar SurveyRelease Ensure the compliance with the rules defined by AGCOM as to the release of data/information from surveys Guidelines for Online Research Following the guidelines issued by other international professional Organizations, these guidelines safeguard the interests of both the respondents online and those who use data coming from researches carried out on the Internet. Automated DialingRegulation Self-regulation of the industry as to the use of automated calling systems for the collection of data though phone interviews

26. Regulaions Qualitative research Its goal is the explanation of the meaning of Qualitative Research, which are the fields of application and its purposes. Therefore, it sets some common reference points as to the language and the rules of behaviour. Controls among institutes Definition of the extent to which the quality control by a certain Institute over the research of another fellow institute is lawful and ethically acceptable. Memorandum of Understanding with the National Board f the Association of Journalists Commitment in order to match the release of the results of a certain research with the necessary information in order to verify its reliability, its completeness, its relevance and its importance towards the subjects dealt wth and the conclusions drawn.

27. INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS

28. Assirm … … actively collaborates with the Data Protection Authority … cooperates with the main Italian Universities … collaborates with several Associations of researchers and scholars … cooperates with the Italian Confederation of Industries; is one of the founding members of the Confindustria Intellect Federation … is one of the promoter associates of Pubblicità Progresso (Social Issues Advertising) In addition, the Association actively cooperates with international organizations of the Industry: Esomar Efarmo Institutional Relations

29. WHY JOIN ASSIRM

30. Assirm means… Defense of Knowledge Supply of Services to its Members Istitutional relations Urge to the Growth of the Industry

31. Why join Assirm? Get more VISIBILITY for your Business Build on the REPUTATION of your Company Make sure your Business is always UP TO DATE Receive CONCRETE SUPPORT for your Business Have the chance of being ACTIVELY INVOLVED in the world of research

32. ASSIRM is the benchmark of market research in Italy. Businesses, Institutions, Universities and researchers consider all the Member Institutes of Assirm as the main actors of research. Being an Assirm Member means looking sound and reliable. Events and opportunities of sponsorship: ASSIRM organizes several events, duringwhich opportunities of sponsorships are offered in order to increase the visibility of Members. www.assirm.itwebsite: there is a section in which each member can present the institute and the fields of specialization, getting an immediate visibility. My Post Service: it is a bulletin board dedicated to Members, in which they can promote their services, their activity, through the free publication of news directly on the website homepage. Get more VISIBILITY for your Business

33. Assirm Quality Certificate – it allows to turn to an «Auditor» appointed by the Association, who, through a check list and during one or more visits to the institute, will assess the correct implementation of the «Assirm Quality Standards» and the «Code of Professional Ethics». The Association, following the positive outcome of the assessment, will issue the certification, the quality «label» and the Assirm plaque. Cerqua Project: assessment of the suitability of the respondent for a qualitative interview, following the strict criteria of the Assirm Quality Standards, through an online platform available from the Assirm website. Compliance with the Code of Professional Ethics and the Quality Standards. Build on the REPUTATION of your Business

34. Assirm Observatory: presentation of the statistics concerning the research market. Dispatch of notifications concerning the latest legal and financial news, thanks to the reports which are sent on a regular basis by the consultants of the Association. Make sure your Business is always UP TO DATE

35. Legal Advice: Assirm offers its Members a new free service, that allows focusing on legal issuesthat are typical of a Research Intitute. The Association has in fact entered into an agreement with the law firm Frattini Salvatici, through which it will be possible to obtain legal advice. General Terms of Agreement: a new, updated and detailed version of the General Terms of Agreement between the Institute and the Client, branched following the types of research, has been developed. Tender notices: e-mail dispatch of selected tender notices, which can be national or international and relating to the market research field. Emporium: it is a new digital platform, which is connected to the website of the Association, in order to provide a tool to facilitate the exchange of offers concerning this field. Benefits and Discounts: Accession to interesting benefits and discounts by several Companies operating in different fields (Eni, Telecom, StarHotel, Alitalia, Ferrovie dello Stato, etc.. ), through Confindustria. Request for Quotations: dispatch of requests for quotations from Client companies that turn directly to the Association. Receive CONCRETE SUPPORT for your Business

36. Assirm Training in Market Research Master’s degree in Qualitative Methods applied to social and marketing research: organized in partnership with the Postgraduate School of PsychologyAgostino Gemelli Partnership with prestigious Italian Universities (Università Statale of Milan, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan) for the organization and the sponsorship of postgraduate programmes concerning the world of research and specialized seminars. Development of a management training programme for experts of the industry, open to Members only. Establishment of work groups, involving the representatives of the Institutes participating, in order to deal with the most interesting and revelant subjects for our industry. Be ACTIVELY INVOLVED in the world of research

37. Companies allowed to join Assirm have to: Operate in Italy in compliance with the applicable rules of civil law and with the chosen legal status carry out market, social and opinion research, on a scientific or statistical basis, or carry out portions of research, such as surveys and data processing, as recognized activities, on behalf of third parties own the necessary technical and professional skills to ensure adequate quality of service, working full time within the company accept in full the Statute of the Association and its rules be ISO certified or undertake to become certified (ISO or Assirm) within 12 months subscribe to the Code of Professional Ethics and be committed to its spread within the Company subscribe to the Standards of Quality and undertake to comply accept the rules of the Disciplinary Committee and its judicial function accept the examinations and inspections, which may be required by the Board or by the Disciplinary Committee Companies that can join Assirm

38. (following) Operate in Italy Research based on Scientific Statistics Disciplinary Committee Professional Expertise and Techniques Compliance with Standars of Quality Compliance with Code of Ethics Subscription of the Statute Quality Certificate

39. Applications from companies or institutions are examined by the Executive Council, which is required to establish possession of the requirements, and decide on their acceptance. Membership to the Association cannot be granted to Companies and Organizations that carry out, even marginally, activities whose purpose is the promotion and advertising of goods and services, direct marketing and telemarketing, trade, distribution and sales. (following)

40. WHY WORK WITH ASSIRM MEMBERS

41. Assirm Members represent the Italian and international excellence: They represent a benchmark for every Company that decided to focus their activity on listening to stakeholders provide information and quality advice, based on flexible methodological approaches, on the application of rigorous methods and on the use of the most advanced tools Why work with ASSIRM Members

42. Assirm Members: have codes of Practice ensuring compliance with Quality and Ethical Standards agree to submit to the internal organs of control and protection of the interests of all stakeholders: clients and respondents first conduct investigations that cover the entire spectrum of research needs have qualified personnel, subject to continuous training and updating ensure constant innovation and upgrading of services offered, also through the application of the most advanced technology Why work with ASSIRM Members

43. Provide ideas, hints, suggestions that can help Business Leaders to: Take decisions Evaluate the effectiveness of the decisions taken Explore new opportunities Prevent possible risks Codes and Intrinsic Quality are not enough...